May 20, 2021 4:15 am
WASHINGTON (AP) – The House has voted to create an independent commission on the deadly Jan. 6 insurrection at the U.S. Capitol, sending the legislation to an uncertain future in the Senate as Republican leaders work to stop a bipartisan investigation that is opposed by former President Donald Trump. The bill passed the House 252-175 on Wednesday, with 35 Republicans voting with Democrats in support of the commission, defying Trump and House Republican leader Kevin McCarthy. Modeled after the investigation into the Sept. 11, 2001, attacks, the legislation would establish an independent, 10-member commission that would make recommendations by the end of the year.
May 20, 2021 4:13 am
GAZA CITY, Gaza Strip (AP) – Israeli media say Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s Security Cabinet has approved a unilateral ceasefire to halt an 11-day military operation in the Gaza Strip. The decision came after heavy U.S. pressure to halt the offensive. It was not immediately clear when the truce was to take effect. The public broadcaster Kan said the fighting was to halt immediately. Other TV channels said it would go into effect at 2 a.m. There was no immediate reaction from Hamas.
May 20, 2021 4:12 am
YOUNGSTOWN, Ohio (AP) – A former mob boss who helped Youngstown earn the name “Crimetown U.S.A” has died at age 90. Lenine “Lenny” Strollo’s crime career ended in the 1990s when he agreed to testify at the federal trial of three men tasked with killing businessman and rival Ernie Biondillo. The men were found guilty and sentenced to life without parole. Strollo pleaded guilty to racketeering and tax charges in 2004 and was sentenced to nearly 13 years in prison. He was released in 2012. Mahoning County Prosecutor Paul Gains, who Strollo’s organization tried to kill, told The Vindicator, “His passing is an end of an era.”
May 20, 2021 3:52 am
MORGANTOWN, W.Va. (AP) – A police union in West Virginia has filed suit to halt the formation of a civilian board to review complaints against officers. News outlets report the Monongalia-Preston Fraternal Order of Police Lodge 87 filed the lawsuit Wednesday morning, hours after the Morgantown City Council unanimously passed an ordinance creating the Civilian Police Review and Advisory Board. The lawsuit says the ordinance contradicts the state’s civil service law, which “is the exclusive law for hiring, firing, voting and disciplining police officers.” It asks a judge to stop the formation of the board. City officials declined to comment.
May 19, 2021 5:38 pm
BUFFALO, N.Y. (AP) – A woman heard shouting at police to “Bring Nancy Pelosi out” to be hanged during the attack on the U.S. Capitol is among those charged in a new round of arrests stemming from the Jan. 6 insurrection. Pauline Bauer of Kane, Pennsylvania, faces the most serious charge in this latest round. áShe’s among two Pennsylvania residents and five from upstate New York charged Wednesday with being part of a mob of former President Donald Trump’s supporters who pushed past police officers and broke through windows and doors. Bauer appeared during an online court hearing and was released on bond.
May 19, 2021 12:56 pm
HARRISBURG, Pa. (AP) – Pennsylvania voters became the first in the nation to impose restrictions on a governor’s authority under an emergency disaster declaration. They approved constitutional amendments sped to a statewide referendum Tuesday by Republican lawmakers angry over how Democratic Gov. Tom Wolf handled the pandemic response. The vote on Tuesday’s primary ballot came as Republican lawmakers across the country have sought to roll back the emergency powers governors wielded during the COVID-19 pandemic. With 73% of precincts reporting, the two questions led with almost 54% of the vote. Wolf had opposed them, but has no say in what proposals lawmakers choose to put on the ballot to amend the state constitution.
May 19, 2021 12:50 pm
Teachers in the West Greene School District in Greene County have voted to authorize a strike. At a general membership meeting on May 5, 2021, an overwhelming majority of WGEA’s membership chose to authorize the WGEA Negotiations Committee to issue a strike notice if a new contract is not reached soon, “A strike authorization provides the WGEA Negotiations Committee with the authority to call a strike, if necessary, under Pennsylvania’s public sector strike law, Act 88 of 1992. At this time, WGEA will continue negotiations with the Board in order to reach a fair and equitable contract settlement,” said Nicole Redlinger, WGEA spokesperson. “By taking this action, the membership of the WGEA has clearly indicated to the Board that we will take any and all steps available to us under Pennsylvania law in order to reach a contract settlement that treats all members of our union fairly and equitably,” said Matthew Rychtarsky, WGEA president. WGEA represents 69 teachers and professional education staff at the West Greene School District.
May 19, 2021 12:31 pm
PITTSBURGH (AP) – Fire crews have brought under control a fire in a downtown Pittsburgh high-rise that prompted evacuation of the building but caused no reported injuries. Pittsburgh public safety officials said the 9:30 a.m. Wednesday blaze was contained to the basement of the 44-story Gulf Tower, although smoke could be seen rising from the roof from what officials said was a ventilation shaft. Firefighters went floor to floor of the 582-foot-tall building to evacuate any remaining occupants. The blaze was declared under control shortly after 11:30 a.m. Wednesday. (WPXI)
May 19, 2021 4:21 am
GAZA CITY, Gaza Strip (AP) – Palestinians across Israel and the occupied territories went on strike in a rare collective protest of Israel’s policies. It came as Israeli missiles toppled a building in Gaza and militants in the Hamas-ruled territory fired dozens of rockets that killed two people. Moves to broker a cease-fire appeared to gain some traction. U.S. officials said the Biden administration was privately encouraging Israel to wind down the bombardment of Gaza. And Egyptian negotiators working to halt the fighting were optimistic international pressure would force Israel to the table. The general strike by Palestinians was mostly peaceful. However clashes between Israeli forces and protesters in the occupied West Bank left three Palestinians dead.
May 19, 2021 4:20 am
PHOENIX (AP) – Firms hired to run a partisan audit of the 2020 election for Senate Republicans in Arizona said Tuesday that data was not destroyed, reversing earlier allegations that election officials eliminated evidence. The claim of deleted databases was amplified by former President Donald Trump and his supporters, who believe conspiracy theories about election irregularities. On Tuesday, a data expert working on the audit team told senators he had recovered all data. The revelation came a day after officials in Arizona’s most populated county released a scathing letter saying the auditors couldn’t find the data because they weren’t looking in the right place.
